Xi-Trump Summit Begins; Minister of Economic Affairs: Taiwan-US Two-Way Investment Continues, Trend Unchanged
As the Xi-Trump summit begins, Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs, Gong Ming-hsin, stated today that if the US and China can de-escalate relations through dialogue, "we are optimistic," assessing that it will not cause a major impact on Taiwan. He emphasized that Taiwan's recent economic growth has clearly benefited from deepening relations with the United States, and two-way investment is ongoing, with the current trend remaining unchanged.
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- 📰 Published: May 14, 2026 at 16:25
- 🔍 Collected: May 14, 2026 at 16:32 (7 min after Published)
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(Central News Agency, Taipei, 14th, by Tseng Yun-ting, Hsieh Yi-hsuan) As the Xi-Trump summit begins today, there is widespread interest in US-China economic interactions and the impact on Taiwan. Minister of Economic Affairs Gong Ming-hsin stated today that if the US and China can de-escalate relations through dialogue, "we are optimistic," assessing that it will not cause a major impact on Taiwan. Taiwan's recent economic growth has clearly benefited from deepening relations with the United States, and Taiwan-US two-way investment is also continuing, with the current trend remaining unchanged.
Gong Ming-hsin, speaking to the media before chairing a Ministry of Economic Affairs meeting today, said that Taiwan's current economic growth performance is clearly related to the deepening of Taiwan-US relations, mainly benefiting from the substantial growth in exports of AI servers and ICT industry products, with the main export destination still being the United States.
He pointed out that this trend will not change, and two-way investment between Taiwan and the United States continues to strengthen.
Gong believes that if the US and China can have smooth talks and their relationship tends to ease, Taiwan holds an optimistic attitude, but for Taiwan itself, there should not be a significant impact.
However, the recent announcements of factory closures by Taiwan's Bridgestone and the Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido have raised concerns about whether the traditional industry sector is weak. Gong emphasized that Shiseido's factory closure was mainly due to special considerations in the Japanese company's global layout, and the government respects that. The situation for some traditional industries this year is better than last year; for example, machinery exports have returned to positive growth. The machine tool industry is still struggling, and the government will further study how to assist the industry.
Gong further stated that Taiwan's current unemployment rate remains low, averaging about 3.3% in the first quarter. Observed from historical data, this is a very low level. If relevant enterprises face factory closures in the future, the government will also provide necessary assistance based on the employees' wishes.
When asked by the media about a poll showing that on the second anniversary of the Lai administration, satisfaction and dissatisfaction with economic performance were both around 40-plus percent, Gong responded that Taiwan's economic performance in the last two years has been quite good. Both the economic growth rate and the inflation rate have been relatively stable. The inflation rate this year is expected to remain below 2%, and the economic growth rate can be maintained at a high level, which can be said to be the best situation in over a decade.
Gong said that export growth of over 40% in the first four months of this year is a very impressive figure. Although traditional industries face some challenges, they have gradually improved compared to last year. The next step will be to focus on how to create a "spillover" of the good results, striving to benefit all industries. (Editor: Pan Yi-Ching) 1150514
Gong Ming-hsin, speaking to the media before chairing a Ministry of Economic Affairs meeting today, said that Taiwan's current economic growth performance is clearly related to the deepening of Taiwan-US relations, mainly benefiting from the substantial growth in exports of AI servers and ICT industry products, with the main export destination still being the United States.
He pointed out that this trend will not change, and two-way investment between Taiwan and the United States continues to strengthen.
Gong believes that if the US and China can have smooth talks and their relationship tends to ease, Taiwan holds an optimistic attitude, but for Taiwan itself, there should not be a significant impact.
However, the recent announcements of factory closures by Taiwan's Bridgestone and the Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido have raised concerns about whether the traditional industry sector is weak. Gong emphasized that Shiseido's factory closure was mainly due to special considerations in the Japanese company's global layout, and the government respects that. The situation for some traditional industries this year is better than last year; for example, machinery exports have returned to positive growth. The machine tool industry is still struggling, and the government will further study how to assist the industry.
Gong further stated that Taiwan's current unemployment rate remains low, averaging about 3.3% in the first quarter. Observed from historical data, this is a very low level. If relevant enterprises face factory closures in the future, the government will also provide necessary assistance based on the employees' wishes.
When asked by the media about a poll showing that on the second anniversary of the Lai administration, satisfaction and dissatisfaction with economic performance were both around 40-plus percent, Gong responded that Taiwan's economic performance in the last two years has been quite good. Both the economic growth rate and the inflation rate have been relatively stable. The inflation rate this year is expected to remain below 2%, and the economic growth rate can be maintained at a high level, which can be said to be the best situation in over a decade.
Gong said that export growth of over 40% in the first four months of this year is a very impressive figure. Although traditional industries face some challenges, they have gradually improved compared to last year. The next step will be to focus on how to create a "spillover" of the good results, striving to benefit all industries. (Editor: Pan Yi-Ching) 1150514